The Four Beauties or Four Great Beauties are four ancient Chinesewomen, renowned for their beauty. The scarcity of historical records concerning them meant that much of what is known of them today has been greatly embellished by legend. They gained their reputation from the influence they exercised over kings and emperors and consequently, the way their actions impacted Chinese history. Three of the Four Beauties brought kingdoms to their knees and their lives ended in tragedy.

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The Four Great Beauties lived in four different dynasties, each hundreds of years apart. In chronological order, they are:

Xi Shi (c. 7th to 6th century BC, Spring and Autumn period), said to be so entrancingly beautiful that fish would forget how to swim and sink below the surface when seeing her reflection in the water.[1]

Diaochan (c. 3rd century, Late Eastern Han/Three Kingdoms period), said to be so luminously lovely that the moon itself would shy away in embarrassment when compared to her face.[3] Unlike the other Beauties, there is no evidence she actually existed historically.

These separate idioms are sometimes merged to describe especially beautiful women or simply to refer to the four beauties' legendary good looks. The merged idiom is 沉魚落雁, 閉月羞花 (sinks fish and entices birds to fall, eclipses the moon and shames flowers); the two parts can also be used separately.